The real aptonyms , such as Baker, Carpenter, Farmer, are dating back to the Old Days, when families called themselves after their profession: John Baker, John Carpenter, (
) and many John Farmers. All Western languages have those names. From long before the days where Napoleon decreed that those who didn't have a surname should choose one.
There's lots of people called " de Boer", Bakker, Timmerman, van Houten (of wood), van Dijk (of the dike) where I live. Native speakers may have better answers for American-English names.
And welcome!
